Bald has never been more beautiful as volunteers prepare to donate their shiny locks in the fourth annual Kick-Off to Cancer Month Head-shave, which takes place Thu., Mar. 30 in MacEwan Student Centre’s north courtyard.
The events will raise money for the Alberta Cancer Foundation. Along with cash donations, the group plans to donate long, untreated hair to Wigs for Kids, a non-profit organization that creates wigs for children who have lost their hair from chemotherapy.
“It’s to put it all in perspective,” said U of C event organizer Jaime Soulodre. “By raising money for the cancer victims, you’re giving your money and time to a cause. Yet at the same time, you’re going through something the cancer patients are also going through. You’re giving your money, you’re giving your time, and you’re understanding a little bit more about how cancer affects people.”
Event co-organizer Will Emery agrees. While the event is designed to entertain and create a positive response from the student body, the head-shave is very meaningful to those who volunteer for it.
“If you look at the website, on the forums, people have started posting their stories about why they’re doing this, why they’re participating,” said Emery. “I think that’s a really good way to look at the effect this kind of event has on the participants, because it gives a lot of opportunity for them–especially the people who have really been profoundly affected by cancer–to give something back, to fight this disease.”
Originally put on by the Haskayne School of Business, the event has grown by leaps and bounds and now includes the entire campus, as well as the rest of the province.
This year, the U of C is joined by Mount Royal College, NAIT, the University of Lethbridge and Red Deer College. The five schools hold the event in unison and compete to see who can raise the most money for the Alberta Cancer Foundation.
“The first two years were just the U of C, then last year was Mount Royal and the U of C, and then this year it’s at five schools,” said Emery. “There’s a friendly competition going on between the schools this year to try and raise as much money as we can. Of course, with U of C’s school spirit, we want to blow them out of the water.”
Between all five schools, there are currently 120 people signed up to lose their locks, though the group hopes to double it before the 30th.
If you’re interested, visit the event website here or e-mail the organizers.